Snowcap

 The striking Snowcap, like the Honduran Emerald and Mangrove Hummingbird, is found only in Central America. It is uncommon across its range, but when seen, it is unforgettable. The male’s plumage is a unique mix of iridescent bronzes, purples, and dark reds, contrasting with a shining white cap that stands out like a beacon in the shade of the humid forests where this species occurs. Typical of many hummingbirds, the female Snowcap has more subdued plumage — green above and white beneath, without the flashy white cap.

Additional features make this Central American specialty a sought-after sighting.

Small Wonder

At 2.5 inches long, the Snowcap is one of the of the world’s smallest hummingbirds — only a quarter of an inch longer than the tiny Bee Hummingbird of Cuba, generally considered to be the world’s most diminutive bird. Also, the Snowcap weighs less than a penny. In fact, it is so small that it’s often mistaken for a bumblebee, moth, or other large insect.

Altitude Adjustments

The Snowcap is resident in Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and western Panama. It breeds in humid forests on Caribbean-facing mountain slopes, at elevations of 1,000 to 2,600 feet. After the breeding season, most descend to adjacent lowlands, a phenomenon called altitudinal migration that is seen in other birds ranging from the Resplendent Quetzal to the Rainbow-bearded Thornbill.

Although widely distributed, the Snowcap is often difficult to find, and its numbers are suspected to be declining.

Male Snowcaps sing on group display grounds, known as leks. Their song is a squeaky chatter: tsitsup tsitsup tsitsup tsuu ttsee.

Petite Pollinator

The Snowcap sips nectar at small flowers on trees, vines, shrubs, and epiphytes, ranging from high in the tree canopy down to eye level. Like other hummingbirds, it also takes tiny insects. Male Snowcaps establish feeding territories and aggressively defend them against other males and also large insects that try to feed there. Although Snowcaps will visit feeders, they are often chased away by larger, more aggressive hummingbird species.

Many native plants rely on hummingbirds like the Snowcap for pollination. The tubular flowers favored by hummingbirds exclude most bees and butterflies and, as a result, prevent pollination by any visitors except for these long-billed birds.

From Lek to Nest

During the breeding season, male Snowcaps join small leks, usually at forest edges, to sing and display to visiting females. A male’s white cap is thought to serve as a signal of his breeding fitness, as is the case with the iridescent crowns of other species such as Costa’s or Anna’s Hummingbirds.

Once a female Snowcap mates, she leaves the lek to build a nest and raise her young alone. First, she chooses a protected spot low in a shrub or tree; then she weaves her cup-shaped nest of plant fibers and mosses, lining it with soft hair and down. She reinforces her nest with elastic material such as spider webs, which allow the nest to stretch to accommodate quickly growing chicks. The female Snowcap lays two eggs, on average, and incubates them for around two weeks. She feeds her young regurgitated nectar and insects, the latter providing protein for quick growth. Young Snowcaps grow rapidly and leave the nest after only two to three weeks.

Tiny Bird Faces Big Threat

The chief threat to the Snowcap is habitat loss from deforestation. Although locally common in some places, this tiny hummingbird is thought to be declining across its range.

ABC has supported the Tirimbina Biological Reserve in Costa Rica, which protects Snowcap habitat. That reserve is a partner in our Latin American Bird Reserve Network. In 2009, ABC supported the purchase of easements totaling nearly 11,000 acres to expand Braulio Carrillo National Park in Costa Rica, which also provides habitat for this lovely hummingbird.

Frill-necked monarch

 The Frill-necked monarch (Arses lorealis), is a species of monarch flycatcher in the Monarchidae family. It is endemic to the rainforests of the northern Cape York Peninsula. It was considered a subspecies of the related frilled monarch (Arses telescophthalmus) for many years before being reclassified as a separate species in 1999 by Schodde and Mason, and upheld by Christidis and Boles in 2008.

Taxonomy

The frill-necked monarch was first described in 1895 by English ornithologist and ex-clergyman Charles Walter De Vis, from a specimen collected by Kendall Broadbent that year. However, undescribed specimens had existed in the Macleay Museum in Sydney and the National Museum in Melbourne for twenty years beforehand. The first eggs were collected by H. G. Barnard the following year in Somerset, Cape York.

The frill-necked monarch is a member of a group of birds termed monarch flycatchers. This group is considered either as a subfamily Monarchinae, together with the fantails as part of the drongo family Dicruridae, or as a family Monarchidae in its own right. Molecular research in the late 1980s and early 1990s revealed the monarchs belong to a large group of mainly Australasian birds known as the Corvida parvorder comprising many tropical and Australian passerines. More recently, the grouping has been refined somewhat as the monarchs have been classified in a ‘Core corvine’ group with the crows and ravens, shrikes, birds of paradise, fantails, drongos and mudnest builders.

Description

The frill-necked monarch measures around 14 cm (5.5 in) in length, and the neck feathers can become erect into a small frill; the male is predominantly black and white, and can be distinguished from the similar and more common pied monarch by its all-white breast-the latter species having a broad black breast band. The throat, nape, shoulders, and rump are white while the wings and head are black. It has an eye-ring of bare skin, and a bright blue wattle. The bill is pale blue-grey and the eyes are dark. The female is similar but lacks the eye-ring and has white lores and a brownish tinged chest.

Distribution and Habitat

The range is the from the top of the Cape York Peninsula southwest to Weipa, and southeast as far as the Iron Range and Coen. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.

Breeding

Breeding season is November to February with one brood raised. The nest is a shallow cup made of vines and sticks, woven together with spider webs and shredded plant material, and decorated with lichen. It is generally sited on a hanging loop of vine well away from the trunk or foliage of a sizeable tree about 2–10 metres (6.6–32.8 ft) above the ground. Two pink-tinged oval white eggs splotched with lavender and reddish-brown are laid measuring 19 mm x 14 mm.

Bohemian Waxwing

 Bohemian Waxwings don’t defend breeding territories and don’t often return to the same areas to breed, unlike many songbirds. This lack of territoriality is most likely the result of the ephemeral and clumped nature of the fruit they rely on. Perhaps because they don’t defend territories, they also don’t have a true song—songs that other birds use to defend territory. Bohemian Waxwings form monogamous pairs for the duration of the breeding season, but pairs frequently form during winter. Males court females by fluffing up body feathers, raising the crest, and pushing the tail downward. After grabbing a female’s attention, the male passes food to the female and she passes it back to him. They continue to pass the food back and forth up to 14 times before mating. They are very social birds and form large flocks during the winter to help find fruits scattered across the landscape. Flocks often range from 50 to 300 birds, and can sometimes be in the thousands. American Robins and Cedar Waxwings sometimes join Bohemian Waxwing flocks.

Habitat

Bohemian Waxwings breed in open evergreen and mixed forests frequently near lakes, ponds, or streams in northern North America and Eurasia. During the nonbreeding season they roam through open woodlands, urban areas, roadsides, and parks, stopping wherever they find fruit.

Food

The Bohemian Waxwing eats insects and some fruit during the breeding season, but switches to eating almost entirely fruit during the nonbreeding season. When catching insects it flies out and back, often from an exposed perch, to grab prey in midair. It picks fruit from trees and shrubs and swallows it whole. It eats almost any fruit available including strawberry, mulberry, serviceberry, raspberry, mountain ash, cranberry, hawthorn, Russian olive, and apple. During the winter waxwings eat dried fruits. The higher sugar content of dried fruit means that waxwings frequently drink water and even eat snow to help with digestion. As winter turns to spring, birds also take sap dripping from maple and birch trees.

Nesting

Bohemian Waxwings nest along forest edges and openings near lakes, streams, and marshy areas. The nest is frequently on a horizontal branch of an evergreen, aspen, or alder tree.

NEST DESCRIPTION

Male and female Bohemian Waxwings gather evergreen twigs, grasses, mosses, and other plant fibers, but only the female builds the nest. She weaves the material together to from a cup nest that is approximately 6 inches across and 3 inches deep. The nest takes 3–5 days to complete.

National Bird of Guatemala: The Resplendent Quetzal

 Have you ever wondered which birds are considered the most beautiful ones on Earth? No matter who’s making the list, it is safe to say that you will probably find the national bird of Guatemala on it. This bird is known for its brilliant green plumage, rich red underparts, shaggy green crest, and most of all, its long wispy tail feathers extending twice the length of the bird itself. We are speaking of course, about the RESPLENDENT QUETZAL – which is found in the lush cloud forests of Central America and is one of the most spectacular looking birds on Earth.

A Truly Resplendent Bird

The Resplendent Quetzal (Pharomachrus mocinno) is truly, as its name says, resplendent. There could be no better way to describe this bird. On top of the above description, the male Resplendent Quetzal has decorative covert feathers on its wings that curve towards its belly. It has large dark eyes adapted for good vision in the dark forest understory and a bright yellow bill. Its tail has snowy white squared off feathers, but it’s the long tail plumes that really captivate us. Males and females are sexually dimorphic, meaning they look different. Females lack the long tail feathers, shaggy crest, and are duller overall. The Resplendent Quetzal is the largest member of its family. It is 36-40 cm long, and the tail feathers of the male add another 65 cm to its overall length.

Quetzals are members of the trogon family, Trogonidae. The family contains 46 species distributed through tropical and subtropical regions worldwide. Trogons reach their greatest diversity in the Neotropics, where 25 species of trogons reside as well as 6 species of quetzals. The Resplendent Quetzal is one of 5 species of quetzals in the genus Pharomachrus. It is the only species of quetzal distributed throughout Central America. It ranges from southern Mexico to western Panama.

Natural History of the Resplendent Quetzal

We can find the Resplendent Quetzal in cool montane cloud forests of Central America. It easily blends into the epiphyte-draped foliage of cloud forests with its bright green iridescent plumage. Resplendent Quetzals are fairly common throughout their range in suitable habitat. They feed on a variety of fruits, especially little avocados of the laurel family. In fact, they play an important role in assisting with the dispersal of this fruit’s seeds. Quetzals will also eat insects and small vertebrates including frogs and lizards. They can hover and stall mid-flight to pluck fruits from the branches.

Resplendent Quetzals are territorial, monogamous breeders, but are solitary during the non-breeding season. Like other members of the trogon family, they are cavity nesters. They excavate their own cavities in soft, decomposing tree trunks using their stout, strong bills. They breed from March to June, varying in different locations within their range. Both males and females are involved in all aspects of breeding, from nest building and incubation to rearing the young after they fledge. Males tend to incubate during the day and females take over the role at night. When the male is inside the nesting cavity, its long tail feathers wrap around and stick back out the hole. The incubation period is approximately 18 days, and chicks fledge at three weeks of age.

Why the National Bird of Guatemala?

Guatemala declared the Resplendent Quetzal as its national bird in 1871. The quetzal was chosen as the national bird from nearly 750 species of birds found in Guatemala, showing just how special it is. It is revered in the country, and its cultural importance dates way back to the Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican civilizations.

The Resplendent Quetzal was a sacred bird in both Aztec and Mayan cultures, where priests and royalty wore quetzal feathers during ceremonial events. It is culturally associated with the “snake god,” Quetzalcoatl. In Mayan culture, it was forbidden to kill a quetzal. However, they were frequently trapped, had their tail feathers removed, and then were released back into the wild. These cultures revered the quetzal as the “god of the air,” and as symbols of light, freedom, and wealth.

The Quetzal is highly emblematic in Guatemala. The coat of arms, flag, postage stamps, currency, and countless souvenirs all carry the image of the quetzal. The Guatemalan Quetzal (GTQ) is the national currency of Guatemala.

King Vulture

 This bird can be seen soaring far above the lowlands of Central and South America in search of dead prey. Their enormous wingspan and broad chest are impressive sights against the backdrop of the sky. Given their size, the name is an accurate description. They truly are king of the vultures. This article will cover some interesting facts about the size, geographical range, and diet of the king vulture.

 Amazing Facts

• The fleshy orange appendage located near the beak is thought to play a role in the courtship rituals. A larger, brighter appendage may send an important signal about the health of the bird to a potential mate.
• King vultures rely on air currents for flight. They rarely flap their wings for hours at a time unless it proves to be necessary.
• King vultures were an important part of the medicine and folklore of the Mayans.
• Although they look similar to Old World vultures from the Eastern Hemisphere, it’s actually thought that New World vultures evolved independently from them.

Where to Find the King Vulture

The king vulture can be found in lowland forests, savannas, and grasslands throughout southern Mexico, Central America, and down through South America to Argentina and Brazil. They do not typically occupy large mountainous regions such as the Andes. The home territorial range of an individual bird is not known, but it is probably quite large.

King Vulture Nests

The king vultures do not build artificial nests at all. Instead, they lay their eggs in the hollow cavities of logs, stumps, and trees with very little material added.

King Vulture Scientific Name

The scientific name of the king vulture is Sarcoramphus papa. The genus combines together two ancient Greek words: sarx means flesh and rhamphos means crooked beak. This refers to the fleshy skin along the beak. The species name papa is Latin for bishop. This refers to the bird’s interesting black and white plumage. The king vulture is the only surviving member of its genus, but a few more species are known from the fossil record. They are a member of the New World vulture family.

King Vulture Size, Appearance, and Behavior

The king vulture is among the largest birds of the Americas, measuring some 2.5 feet tall and a wingspan of around 6 to 7 feet long. Their broad chest and long wings have white plumage and black tips, giving them the appearance of a bishop’s cloak. Their bare head is marked by an interesting combination of red, orange, black, and yellow with a fleshy appendage arranged around the large, hooked beak. They also have silver or white eyes and gray feet. Males and females are almost impossible to distinguish from each other by appearance alone.

King vultures are mostly solitary hunters that stick to small family units and do not form large groups. Although they lack a voice box, they do make low croaking sounds and warning calls, especially when a predator approaches their territory. They spend much of the day sitting atop the canopy or soaring above the ground in search of food. They tend to remain within the same place for almost the entire year and do not migrate at all.

King Vulture Diet

King vultures are considered to be scavengers. Without a good sense of smell, they mostly use their well-developed vision to find dead carcasses and feed on them. However, they will often rely on other types of vultures to locate food for them.

What does the king vulture eat?

King vultures feed almost exclusively on carrion. They do not hunt for and kill other animals, even when it’s sick and dying. Their large, sharp beak is nevertheless capable of ripping through tough hide and flesh when the animal has expired. Smaller vultures rely on them to tear up the food.

King Vulture Predators, Threats, and Conservation Status

The king vulture does not appear to be seriously threatened in any manner. The IUCN Red List currently ranks it as a species of least concern. However, habitat loss may have some negative impact on this species, causing populations to decline.

What eats the king vulture?

King vultures are sometimes preyed upon by snakes and big cats such as jaguars. The size of the adult affords it some protection against all but the largest predators. Juveniles are more vulnerable, especially when they wander away from the nesting site.

BEST Books About Birds

 Education AND Entertainment 

 I love learning about birds but also enjoy a good and entertaining story. These books do a great job of combining the two.

1. The Genius of Birds

 The author goes on a scientific exploration around the world to learn and explore bird intelligence. Anyone that reads this book will immediately question the assumption that birds are dumb or someone has a “birdbrain.” This is a highly entertaining journey that touches on many stories and species of birds. Because it mixes science with entertainment, you don’t have to be obsessed with birds to enjoy this book.

 2. The Thing With Feathers

This book explores the unknown intelligence of birds from all around the world. From the extraordinary homing abilities of pigeons to the fantastic memories of nutcrackers. The author does an excellent job of educating readers and weaving in captivating stories and humor.

 3. Gifts of the Crow

You will never look at a crow the same!

Crows have brains that are too big for their bodies, but this allows them to think, plan and consider their actions. The authors team up to tell wonderful stories of the high intelligence of crows. From gathering around their dead to recognizing people to even murdering other crows!

Best Bird Watching Books: Tips and Tricks

4. Bird Watching for Dummies

Are you just starting your birding adventure? Not sure what this crazy obsession is all about?

This is a great bird book for absolute birding beginners. I initially read this many years ago to try and get up to speed as quickly as possible. Even though it’s 20 years old, the information is still accurate and useful. It’s effortless to read and designed to skip around to the sections that are relevant to you.

5. Sibley’s Birding Basics

This book is a perfect complement to the author’s field guides (Sibley’s Bird’s East and West) as it builds upon the necessary skills of bird identification. It has helped immensely, both in the field and using field guides.

 Sibley gives excellent information to help make a positive identification. In addition, he offers advice on many topics, from sketching birds in the field to feather shapes to analyzing different birding gear.

6. Good Birders Still Don’t Wear White

This book is the sequel to “Good Birders Don’t Wear White.” It follows the same concept as the original, with birders sharing their wisdom and advice and what drives their passion for birds. It also covers a wide range of topics, and it’s an easy book to skip around to find your favorite articles.

There is definitely something for everybody. Contributors include many well-known birders, such as Richard Crossley, Pete Dunne, Kenn Kaufman, Michael O’Brien, Bill Thompson, and Julie Zickefoose.

 Best Birding Books: Big Years and Listing

 I think most of us dream of the day we can drop everything and spend the year trying to see as many birds as possible. Warning! Reading any of these bird books will only make you want to pursue a “Big Year” even more!

7. The Big Year

This book was turned into a movie a few years ago. It’s a great way to get introduced to the crazy annual competition of who can see the most birds in a year. Trust me; it will get you thinking about how you can accomplish your big year.

8. To See Every Bird On Earth

This book holds a special place in my birding heart. It helped propel me into the bird-watching fray.

I initially checked it out from the library as an audiobook many years and subsequently listened to it three times. It does an excellent job of introducing some of the birding subculture’s oddities and illustrates how bird watching can turn into an obsession. 

9. Kingbird Highway

Many of us have dreamed of completing our own “big year.” Now imagine hitting the road as a teenager without much money, mostly hitchhiking your way across the country and eating cat food to save money.

Kenn Kaufman has become one of the biggest names in birding, but it all started in the early 1970s when he tried to set the North American big year record.

I love this book for its adventure and insights into the birding subculture more than 40 years ago! Birding has come a long way.

10. Lost Among the BirdsBest Birding Books of 2017

What do you do when you are at a life crossroads after quitting a high-paying job and a failed relationship?

Easy answer. Go birding! Or at least that is what author Neil Hayward did.

He started his “Big Year” in 2013 mostly as a distraction, but ended up breaking the longstanding ABA Big Year record…. sort of accidentally  This book is very entertaining with lots of great stories and explores the human element of birding.

11. Birding Without Borders

Wow! Talk about an extremely big year. In 2015, Noah Strycker broke the global big year record. He spent an entire year traveling across the globe trying to see as many birds as possible and ended up seeing over 6,000 different species!

This book details his many adventures along the way. Loved that he partnered with locals at every step of the journey to help. Amazed at how popular birding seemed throughout the world and that most people genuinely want to conserve these wild places.

Violet-green Swallows

 These aerial insectivores perform acrobatic stunts over lakes and streams high in the sky in search of flying insects. Violet-green Swallows can look dark at first, but their true colors come to life when sunlight illuminates their metallic green backs and iridescent purple rumps. They are a common sight in the West in spring and summer, but they vanish to Mexico and Central America for the winter. They can be distinguished from other swallows by the white patches on the sides of their rump and their white cheeks.

Find This Bird

One of the best places to look for Violet-green Swallows is to head out to a river, pond, or lake early in the morning and keep your eyes to the sky. Watch for birds swooping and twittering over the water snatching up insects. They tend to be in groups from 10 to over 100 and they often hang out with other swifts and swallows. To pick one out of the crowd look for the white saddlebags on the sides of the rump and a clean white belly. It can be difficult to get a good look at flying Violet-green Swallows, but you might have an easier time following one with your binoculars if you spot one a little bit further away. That way the swallow won’t zip out of your field of view as soon as it enters. They often perch on power lines and dead trees, so you’ll be able to get a better look at perched birds in those spots.

Cool Facts

• Violet-green Swallows have been recorded flying at 28 miles per hour—a pretty respectable speed considering that the Peregrine Falcon, the fastest bird of prey, averages about 25–35 miles per hour in traveling flight.
• Sometimes late hatching young are at a disadvantage, but female Violet-green Swallows invest more antimicrobial proteins in the eggs laid later within a clutch possibly reducing infection for late hatching young and giving them a leg up.
• The Violet-green Swallow is very similar to the Tree Swallow, both in appearance and habits, but it is more closely related to two other swallows found in the Caribbean: the Golden Swallow and Bahama Swallow.
• A pair of Violet-green Swallows was observed assisting a pair of Western Bluebirds in raising young. The swallows guarded the nest and tended the bluebird nestlings, and after the bluebirds fledged, the swallows used the nest site for their own young.
• The oldest recorded Violet-green Swallow was a male, and at least 9 years, 1 month old, when he was recaptured and rereleased during banding operations in California in 1993. He had been banded in the same state in 1985.
• The scientific name for Violet-green Swallow is Tachycineta thalassina. Tachycineta means fast moving and thalassina means of the sea referring to the sea-green color of their backs.

White Stork : Thermal updrafts assist their migration

 White Storks are large, wading birds. They are covered in white feathers, except for the black primary feathers on the wings; and have long, sharp bills and slender legs, both red.

Males are larger than females, but both have identical plumage. Hatchlings and the young have black bills and yellowish-grey legs.

Amazing Stork facts

Here are a few fun facts about these wading birds.

• There are 19 species of storks, and they have a lifespan of 30+ years.
• The marabou stork is the largest of all of these species, weighing 20 lbs. with a wingspan of 12 feet. The smallest, on the other hand, is the hamerkop, which only weighs 17 ounces.
• Identification is rather easy, since they stand so tall and primarily have white, black, and gray feathers.

marabou stork

hamerkop

Feed

Ciconia ciconia feeds by day. It is carnivorous and has a varied diet of small mammals, large insects, amphibians, snakes, lizards, earthworms, fish, eggs and hatchlings of ground-nesting birds, molluscs, and crustaceans.

In years of drought White Storks eat mainly insects and mice. In wet years their diet consists principally of aquatic animals.

White Storks search for food while walking with their bill pointing towards the ground. When prey is detected, they jab forward their bill in order to grab it.

They found 

They breed throughout Europe, North Africa, Asia Minor, and the Middle East. During the winter they migrate in flocks of thousands to tropical Africa, parts of the Middle East, and the Indian subcontinent.

Thermal updrafts assist their migration. For this reason, they avoid stretches of open water, such as the Mediterranean Sea.

Mate

Ciconia ciconia, from the age of 3 or 4, remains in a lifelong monogamous mating pair.

In spring, males return to breeding grounds, arriving a few days before females and immediately busy themselves enlarging the nest used the previous year. Females, on arrival, also participate in the nest-building. They nest in loose colonies of up to 30 pairs.

The male, when rejoined by the female, carries out the “head-shaking crouch” display. First, he lowers himself into the nest in an incubating posture. Then, stretching out his long neck, he begins to shake his head from side to side. Finally, the couple cement their pair bond with an “up-down” display, in which heads are pumped up and down with wings outstretched, accompanied by the clattering of bills.

Females lay 3 to 5 eggs (normally 4), which hatch after roughly 1 month. Within 8 weeks young White Storks may leave their nesting grounds and become independent.

Stork Behavior

The life of this bird is solitary, choosing to live alone unless it is breeding season. Some species choose to live in groups when they aren’t breeding, while others will live within a flock for their entire life. Their group behavior seems to change from one bird to the next.

Rather than tweeting a song like other birds, the call is a clattering noise made with their bill. Some people compare the sound to that of firing off a machine gun. These calls vary with what the bird is trying to communicate.

Habitat

White Storks love areas with shallow, still water that are neither too cold nor too humid. They avoid regions with vast tracts of tall or dense vegetation. So, they like areas similar to those preferred by humans for agriculture.

During the breeding season, Ciconia ciconia seeks out suitable structures for nest-building, such as tall trees, rooftops, chimneys, haystacks, pylons, telephone poles, or constructed nest towers.

The nest is usually built some 30 metres above ground. With up to 2 m in diameter and 3 in depth, the nest of the White Stork is among the largest of all birds. Sticks, branches, rags, paper, and other available materials are used for its construction.

Where to Find Storks

Most native species of storks come from Europe, and only one species – the wood stork – is even located in the United States. They prefer habitats with wetlands and marshes, giving them easy access to their preferred foods. Since they migrate towards the equator during autumn and winter, they are easiest to spot in the summertime atop buildings or near trees where they build their massive nests. They return after the coldest months have passed in February, March, and April, and the presence of their nests is meant to be a good omen.

Northern Lapwing

Northern Lapwing: Large, unique plover with black breast, face, crown, and long upright head plumes; back is green-tinged purple and copper. Belly and sides are white, uppertail is white with a black tip, and undertail coverts are rich rufous-orange. Wings are dark with white tips; legs are pink. Sexes are similar. Winter adult shows less black on face and has white edges on dark back feathers. Juvenile resembles winter adult but has fine spots on dark back, and shorter head plumes.

Range and Habitat

Northern Lapwing: This species is found in a wide variety of open areas with bare ground or low grasses. It is widespread in Europe and Asia; this bird occasionally wanders in the autumn to eastern Newfoundland and Labrador, extreme eastern Quebec, and the northeastern United States from Maine to Maryland.

Breeding and Nesting

Northern Lapwing: Breeds in a wide variety of open habitats ranging from wetlands to pastures and old fields. Lays four or five brown eggs with black markings that are primarily incubated by the female for 26 to 28 days. Chicks are independent soon after hatching but are guarded by one or both parents.

Foraging and Feeding

Northern Lapwing: Feeds in open fields and areas of bare ground, where it hunts for insects and small invertebrates by sight. Will run a few steps, pause and probe in ground, run a few steps.

Vocalization

Northern Lapwing: Call is a plaintive whistle “peewit.”

Similar Species

Northern Lapwing: Rare vagrant and unlikely to be confused with any species in North America.

Where and when to see them

Lapwings are found on farmland throughout the UK particularly in lowland areas of northern England, the Borders and eastern Scotland. In the breeding season prefer spring sown cereals, root crops, permanent unimproved pasture, meadows and fallow fields. They can also be found on wetlands with short vegetation. In winter they flock on pasture and ploughed fields. The highest known winter concentrations of lapwings are found at the Somerset Levels, Humber and Ribble estuaries, Breydon Water/Berney Marshes, the Wash and Morecambe Bay.

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